


Reflections

by AifasInTheSky



Series: (See You) On The Other Side [4]
Category: HLVRAI - Fandom, Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware - Fandom
Genre: (I'll keep adding tags as the fic progresses), Established Relationship, First Meetings, M/M, Mirror episodes, past and future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25420489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AifasInTheSky/pseuds/AifasInTheSky
Summary: Dr. Bubby and Dr. Coomer. A look into their new life and the past they left behind, but never forgot.
Relationships: Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life)
Series: (See You) On The Other Side [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839427
Comments: 9
Kudos: 50





	Reflections

Bubby takes pride in his doctor title. He won’t let anyone call him anything else.

He might not have earned it by copious studying, as his workmates think it should be, but he bled for it all the same. Hours and hours and days and weeks and _months_ on that stupid tube, being fed information and poked and probed and evaluated… He earned it alright.

That’s one of the reasons why, when he meets Dr. Harold Coomer, he’s certain they’ll never get along.

“Hello, professor!” he says with a grin that’s evident even through his thick brown moustache.

“Doctor,” he bites off, pissed. Well, it’s better than these assholes who only call him Bubby—some have ended up having to redo their singed paperwork in consequence. But nonetheless, he knows the difference. He knows he’s being pulled rank over. And he won’t allow it.

“Professor.” The man grins, eyes shining with mirth.

Bubby suppresses a growl, least he gets in trouble for it—he won’t get back into the tube, not so soon. “Listen, you prick,” he grits between his teeth, getting closer to Coomer. “You aren’t better than me. I have the same clearance as you. You don’t lead this project. We work together, for better or for worse. Do you understand?”

Coomer blinks at him, visibly confused. “I know?” he says quizzically.

Bubby stares at him, surprised. He wasn’t expecting this. Why is he doing this, then?

He suddenly finds himself aware of the close distance they ended up at, and he takes two steps back, turning away from Coomer.

He clears up his throat. “Follow me, then. I know the way to the lab.” He starts walking. “We have much work to do.”

“Professor Bubby, wait!” he hears Coomer say as hurried steps catch up to him.

He sighs. This will be hell, won’t it?

Nothing good can come out of this.

\-----

Their latest project is close to being completed.

He couldn’t have sat still after the Black Mesa incident. All those years of doing research—and, admittedly, living locked in a lab might have influenced it too—made it impossible for him to just… stop researching. He was a doctor, damn it, and he was going to use his doctorate alright.

Harold seemed to be on the same page. They both have been working together, so familiar with each other’s movements at this point that their productivity increased in at least a seventy-five percent.

Alright, and eighty percent.

However, things can only run smoothly for so long.

“Bubby, look out!”

He feels something impact on his side, and he’s thrown across the room and out of the range of a—frankly not that intimidating—explosion.

He shakes his head from the floor, looking up at the singed table, where the remains of the small rocket prototype rest.

“Damn it!” He punches the floor. “I thought we got it right this time!”

“Don’t worry.” He feels a hand over his fist caressing his knuckles and making his hand relax under its touch. He looks at Harold, who’s resting onto his lap, smiling at him. “We’ll get it right next time.” His eyes glint with mischief. “Professor.”

Bubby huffs out. “Doctor.”

“Professor.”

“You know,” he says, adjusting his grip on Harold so that he doesn’t fall off. “You never told me why you called me professor all the way back then.” In fact, he still doesn’t know why he keeps being called as such, and all this time he’s been honestly afraid to ask. But the adrenaline coursing through his body has made him bold, or so it seems.

Harold seems to think about it.

“I don’t know,” he finally replies. Bubby blinks at him. “You looked like a professor to me.”

He sputters. “I certainly did not! And I do not now, either!”

Harold laughs, intertwining their fingers together. “You looked smart. Kind.” He chuckles. “And about ready to blow a fuse, like all my college professors.”

“Oh, you little…” But he’s grinning, and then laughing, because it’s true, he really was, and he can imagine very well a young Harold driving all the professors insane. Harold laughs with him, and soon the room is filled with their guffaws and the hits the neighbors are inflicting on their wall.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I might be rushing a bit, but I really want to have something to look forward to and writing these characters sparks joy for me. If you're reading any of my TF2 stories, I deeply apologize and I'll do my best to update them too.
> 
> I don't know if this can be really called a mirror narrative (I've written one of those before) but I want to show little episodes of their life in the new world Tommy created while looking a bit at how they got there.
> 
> (And for the record, I'm listening to Two Slow Dancers by Mitski on repeat at the mo lol)
> 
> Thank you very much for reading! See you next chapter ♥


End file.
